Transportation system



July 29, 1 K. c. GAYNOR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 29, 1950 BY C {M0 y 29, 1952 K. c. GAYNOR 2,605,007

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed March 29, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F 4 INVENTOR. M C. 44.01., I a By K 7 Atty July 29, 1952 K. c. GAYNOR 2,605,007

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed March 29, 1950 5 sheets-sheet :5

Fucu. 8

IN VEN TOR. C 44.01, BY f T7 $6; 0. Z MT'A Patented July 29, 1952 w t uflfi' rRANsPoRre'rroNsYsrEM Reyes O. Gaynor sioux City, Iowa h Application-March 29,1950,seriai;No.1sas'z V g 1 v 1 0 The invention relates to a transportation system' and more particularly to a system for-loading and unloading and transportingautomobile trucks on rail cars.

The 'object of the invention is to provide a transportation system in which the loading of the trailer truck onto a rail car at one rail terminus and its unloading at another terminus is facilitated and simplified Icy the use of a loading platform at each rail terminus having a rail approachand a -vehicle approach "at different elevations so that a railcar may be movedonto the platform from its approach'and the trailer vehicle run onto or'oif of the top of the railcar on the platform, the platform provided with trailer lowering and raising means which for loading permits the trailer running gear to be lowered in pits in the railcar and its body resting on the top of the railcar in a fixed position and for unloading raises the trailer from its fixed position so that it may be run off fromthe top of the railcar. As the raising and lowering mechanism is mounted in the terminus platform, the construction of the railcar is greatly simplifled and a great saving is efiected over the-system shown inmy prior U. S. PatentNo. 2,489,024; dated November 22, l949,-wherein each railcar is;provided with means for ra'ising and lowering the trailer, truck relative to said railcar. Where it"isi desired to carrytwo trailertruc'ks on a single railcar, the loading platform is'a turn- 4 Claims (citie s) F the'type for the-mounting of the pin [2 the for fifth Wheel of a tractor truck, so that the trailer truck may be moved thereby. Unlike the ordi-; nary trailer truck, the truck! Bis also-preferably. provided with tapered ribs 14 at its sides and at least at one end' which dependbelow the bottom of the body of the truck.

a The railcar :l5, such as a so-called fiat .car,

may beofa, length to .carrya single trailer truck or of I a: length to take two? traileri trucks-the latter beingshown.

The railc'ar i5, ifof the fiatcar'j-type, has a flat top 16 provided with side rails I! running substantiallyfthe length of the car. and withsets of wheel pitszis and I9; .The wheel pits 18 re-' ceivsthe front landing gear .wheels II and the tablejwhich permits loading the railcar with 'a trailer truck'at one end and'then turning the platform and loading the other trailer truck onto the other end of the railcar. I Y

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined'by claims at the conclusion hereof. In the drawings: Fig, 1 is a plan view of partsof the apparatus embodying the invention; 5

.Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus, the approaches'being shown in section; j Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a portion of the loading and unloading" platform, parts being broken away? {Fig} 41s a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4+4 of Fig.3;

Fig. 5 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 4; g Fig. '7 is a detailed horizontal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5

Fig. 8 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 88 of Fig. 2. Referring ,to- Figs. 2 and 8, the numeral l0 designates an automobile trailer or trailer truck which is preferably of the type having rear wheels I.l:, a :front king pin l2, and the usual .foldable wheel pits E9 the rear wheels all of the trailer trucks and depressions 20 receive the king pins iZ'oi said trucks; 7 The wheel pits l8 each may have? an elevator platform 2i mounted forvertical sliding movement in guides 22 and may have one or more sets of landing wheel'receiving depressions 23.- The wheel pits l2 each may have an elevator platform 24 mounted for vertical sliding movement in guides 251and may have side rails 26 and a stop rail 2?. I

At each rail terminus of the system a loading .and unloading'structureis provided including a flat top platform '28 having rails 29 which connect at one point with rails 30 of a railroad siding; so thatv a'rail car l5. may be driven onto. or off of said platform; A-highway approach 31 leads to the platiormifi at another point and is at a higher elevation than the. rail approach andat a height which permits. driving: a trailer vehicle [0 from this approach ontothetop it of the car l5. Where as is here shown; the-car it takes two-trailer vehicles l0, theplatform 28 is in the form of a turntable supported at its central portion on'a suitable. pivot support 32 and at its outer portion carrying. wheels 33 mounted on curved: rails 36, the platform being disposed-in a pit or excavation 35.- With this arrangement turning'ofxtheplatforrn Zflrelative to the approach Biperm'itsfirst one and then the other of thet-ruck's-or, vehicles Hi to be hacked. into position upon the'flat car l5, so that the rear wheels l l of each truck will be disposed over the wheel pits l9 and the wheels l3 over thepits I8, said wheels resting on the platforms 24 and 2| associated with these pits when said platforms are in their raised position.

V For raising and loweringthe platforms 2 I the loading and unloading,platform23 has elevator pits35 and 3'! ateachend for the platforms 2i and 2 respectively. Each pit3l5 has spaced pairs ofspaced vertically. disposed, rotatable jack ,these jack screws, which platforrn is movable through an opening 4| in the top of said platform 28 between the rails 29. Each pit 31 has spaced pairs of spaced vertically disposed, rotatable jack screws 42 mounted therein and nuts 43 carried by a platform elevator frame including a central member 44. and side members 45 are mounted on these jack screws, said members 44 and 45 being movable through openings 46 and 41 in the top of the platform between and at opposite sides of the rails 29.

The jack screws 38 for the frame 48 which raises and lowers one of the platforms 2| and the jack screws 42 for the frame 44, 45 which raises and lowers the associated platform 24 whereby one of the trailer vehicles may be raised andlowered relative to its carrying railcar 15 are driven through suitable shafts and gearing connections by a reversible electric motor 48 mounted on the platform 28".

.Referring to Figs. 3 to 6, the drive shaft of the motor 48, which may be a geared head motor, is coupled to a shaft 49 extending transversely of the loading platform 28 and suitably journalled therein and provided with spaced worms 50 which mesh with worm wheels on shafting 52 journalled at opposite sides of said platform 28. Each of the shafts 52 carries spaced sets of bevel gears 53 and 54. The bevel gears 53 mesh with bevel gears 55 fixed to the jack screws 38 while the bevel gears 54 mesh with bevel gears 56 fixed to the jack screws 42.

The platform may have catwalks 28a at the sides thereof from which the motors 48 are suspended. With this arrangement turning of the motor 48 in one direction simultaneously turns the jack screws 38 and 42 to move the frames and the platforms 2| and 24 associated therewith in one direction, for example, to raise the platforms 2| and 24 to a vehicle loading position and turning of said motor in the opposite direction turns the jack screws 38 and 42 to lower the platforms 2| and 24 and thus lower the trailer vehicle down into a position on the top of the flat car where its ribs |4 engage in complementary depressions 51 in the top portion of said railcar, so that said ribs interlock therewith, said ribs and depressions preferably being tapered to insure a proper alinement between the ribs and said depressions as the trailer truck is lowered to a carrying positions. Suitable holddown clamps between the truck and the railcar may also be provided.

With the above construction, a railcar is backed from the siding rails 38 onto the rails 29 of the loading and unloading platform 28 into a position where its pits l8 and 19 aline with the elevator frames 40 and 44, 45. The motor 48 at that end of the platform, which is then alined or may be alined with the highway approach 3|, is then operated to raise the elevator frames 40 and 44, 45 at this end of the platform so as to bring the platforms Hand 24 in the railcar to a level with the top thereof. The trailer vehicle is then backed onto the railcar from the approach 3| to a position in which its wheels II and I3 rest on the platforms 2| and 24, respectively. The motor 48 is then put into reverse and the platforms 2| and 24 lowered, thus lowering the trailer vehicle to bring its body into interlocked position with the top portion of the flat car. The platform 28 isthen-turned end for end, and the operations of raising and lowering the platforms 2| and 24 repeated for the second trailer vehicle driven onto the opposite end of the flat car. The loaded flat car is then pulled or driven off of the platform 28 onto the rails 29 to become a part of the train and is carried to its destination, where a similar loading and unloading platform is provided by which the trailer vehicles are unloaded and removed from the fiat car and onto a highway approach where they may be coupled to their tractor trucks for haulage to their final destination.

It is also to be noted that another vehicle approach similar to the approach 3| but at right angles thereto may lead to the turntable so that loading of two vehicles on a single fiat car may be more speedily effected, since with the two vehicle approaches at right angles to each other, it is only necessary to turn the table through to effect a loading of the two vehicles on the flat car.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a transportation system for transporting a trailer truck on a fiat-type railcar having pits to receive the running gear of said truck and movable members in said pits adapted to engage said running gear, the combination of a platform having rails to receive the railcar, arail siding connecting with said platform at the rail level thereof, a highway approach to said platform at a level with the top of the railcar, on said platform, and elevators mounted in said platform for raising and lowering said movable members to raise and lower the running gear of said truck out of and into the, pits on, said railcar.

2, In a transportation system for transporting a trailer truck on a flat type railcar having pits to receive the running gear of said truck, the combination of a platform having rails to receive the railcar, a rail siding connecting with said platform at the rail level thereof, a highway approach to said platform at a level with the top of the railcar on said platform, vertically adjustable platforms working in the wheel'pits of said railcar, and raising and lowering means in said platform for moving said vertically adjustable platforms to raise and lower the running gear of said truck relative to said wheel pits.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 in which the rail carrying platform is a turntable with motor driven raising and lowering means at each end thereof for loading and unloading a trailer truck from either end of a flat car provided with wheel pits for said trucks.

4. The structure asdefined in claim 2 wherein the raising and lowering means in the rail carrying platform are motor driven elevator frames in which the elevator frame for the rear wheels includes platformraising parts working between and at opposite sides of the rails on saidrail carrying platform.

KEYES C. GAYNOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 483,360 Ludlow Sept. 27-, 1892 1,594,494 (Lallison Aug. 3, 1926 1,611,882 Budd Dec. 28, 1926 1,716,588 Kirchner June '11, 1929 2,489,024 Gaynor Nov. 22, 1949 

